This morning’s walk takes us back around toward the beach and the campground, but oh, what a difference a day makes, particularly a weekday! There is virtually no one here. Where as Saturday and even Sunday the place was jam packed, this morning, bupkes. Just the way we like it!

Breakfast on the terrace, then off we go to Stresa, a little town on the way toward Milan, to catch the ferry boat over to Isola Bella. We lucked into a parking space in the lot where the boats come and go, and were right in time to catch the ferry boat at 11am. “Ferry” maybe a little bit of a misnomer, this is a teeny little boat that seats, oh maybe 20 or 25 and plies the waters between Isola Madre and Isola Bella all day long. The water is nice and calm so I can actually enjoy our little jaunt across the lake, snapping pictures of the beautiful Lake Maggiore shoreline, Isola Madre and Bella as we get closer.

Arriving on the island, we really didn’t know what to expect. Gaby had mentioned a palace, and, since we know we are in good hands with the two master weekend planners, we haven’t done an ounce of research to see where we are going. A lovely change from our norm! So, once through the entrance line under the arched portico, we are still not prepared for this place. Oh my gosh – it is an amazingly huge and opulent palatial home with more artwork than you could ever even imagine and decorative art deco, baroque and well you name the style, accents everywhere. The amount of pictures we took – well you’ll see below!

The Palace took almost 400 years to finish, beginning in the 1600s and finally being completed in 1948. You can see why as you wander through the rooms – the huge marble stairway, the medieval armor, the gold plated (or probably real gold!) statues and gorgeous inlaid credenzas.

What really blows the mind, though, is the Gallery of Paintings, called the Berthier Gallery in honor of a general who visited when Napoleon was here. Every square inch of wall space is covered with paintings, 130 and in all, framed in hand carved gilt frames and placed exactly so that there is barely any wall space showing.

Moving through the various rooms, the detailing and accents are just amazing and beautiful. Stucco and ornate, gargoyle heads and arches. The huge reception room is a highlight. Soaring up 3 stories with a domed ceiling, marble columns and stucco cupids. Definitely one of the highlights of the palace. Plus the views from the room across the Lake really can’t be beat.

Continuing on, we wandered past the piano room – fabulous piano with a painting on the underside of the lid! – and into the room where Napoleon stayed on his visit here. The story goes that the owners of the house had to rapidly prepare this room (it began as an alcove) for Napoleon and his wife Josephine on very short notice. They also had to prepare a dinner for 30 and lunch the next day in the grotto for Napoleon (wait until you see the Grotto pictures – that was probably my favorite area of the whole palace). All this was done and Napoleon only stayed for 2 days! Crazy!

More gorgeous views, more gorgeous rooms, although we had to speed through a few because they were jam packed with people and a couple of tours that had entered ahead of us, but we still managed to snap photos.

And bonus! Because amongst the tons of visitors, there are also docent/guards everywhere and we ask one of them to take a picture of the four of us…finally! Gaby and I have been saying we have to do this all weekend. And now we have accomplished that task.

Now we are onto the grotto. This was the “summer quarters” of the palace, a place to escape the heat on the upper floors. There are 6 grotto rooms, each covered in stucco with marble floors and accents. The first two rooms are decorated in a seashell motif, one with a statue of either Achilles or Alexander the Great (there is still a debate as to which!). The third in a Greek style with marble walls and a huge marble “Sleeping Venus” statue in the middle. The fourth is a continuation of the seashell theme with a model ship in its midst.

The fifth is the largest room of them all with four pillars, stone deposits, slabs of black marble and stuccoes in the shapes of shells, turtles, gods and odd masks. And the sixth and final grotto room has a collection of saddles, harnesses and other equestrian memorabilia with the crests of the families who built the palace: The Borromeos, Barberinis and Odescalchis. Plus an architectural model of the Angera Fortress, destroyed by Napoleon, but held in high regard by the Borromeo family as their patriarch was born there.

These rooms were all originally accessed by the French doors leading out to the garden, which leads to beautiful views through the open garden doors. Now they have been connected to the main house by a circular staircase that leads to a tapestry gallery and then to the outside gardens.

And, oh my, the gardens! A delight in landscaping and sculpture and incredible views across to the mainland. If it weren’t so hot, we could stay out here all day! As it is, we manage to cover the entire garden area taking way too many photos and watching idiots try to take Instagram-able photos with the peacock – which becomes enraged at the one idiot who got to close and goes after him. You go peacock!

Told ya we took too many pictures! Exiting through the greenhouse, we wander toward the boat dock, stopping at a cute little cafe for a drink after our hot explorations. The Wish you were Beer got us – we had to stop. How could we not?

From there it is back to the dock, back on the boat to Stresa, then to Cannero for some rest and relaxation before our farewell dinner.

This evening, we once again have drinks at Arancioamara, where Sigis has befriended the waiter who takes such excellent care of us – and stays and talks with us forever – and of course acts as our photographer again. Bella Italia!

Then we choose to go back to Europa for dinner because, well, A) it is excellent, and B) it is right here on the waterfront – no driving or ferrying involved. We proceed to have a lovely time – at our “usual” table, ordering the same exact thing as before! (Well, we added a shared plate of charcuterie as a starter, but otherwise…) Hey, if it ain’t broke…..

Sadly, our evening is almost over, as we have our nightcap at the hotel on the promenade – until the bugs chase us up onto the patio. We draw the evening out as much as we can – we don’t want to leave – this whole weekend has been just magical and if our travels must end, this time together with Gaby and Sigis in this fabulous place was an absolutely perfect end to our travels.